''Allaeochelys'' is an extinct genus of Carettochelyid turtle, known from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

of Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. Fossils of the species ''Allaeochelys crassesculpta'' have been found in the

Messel Pit The Messel pit (german: Grube Messel) is a disused quarry near the village of Messel ( Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg, Hesse) about southeast of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Bituminous shale was mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserv ...

near Darmstadt, Germany in pairs fossilised in the coital position. It is believed to be the only example in the fossil record of vertebrates mating. Dr Walter Joyce of the University of Tübingen said that "We've demonstrated quite clearly that each pair is a male and a female, and not, for example, just two males that might have died in combat....People had long speculated they might have died while mating, but that's quite different from actually showing it."

Taxonomy

After * ''Allaeochelys crassesculpta'' (Harrassowitz, 1922)

, Germany, Early Eocene * ''Allaeochelys delheidi'' (Dollo, 1886) Brussels Formation, Belgium, Zamora, Spain, Early Eocene

Headon Hill Formation The Headon Hill Formation is a geological formation found in the Isle of Wight and south Hampshire, England. It preserves fossils dating back to the Priabonian stage (uppermost Eocene). See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in ...

, England, Late Eocene (

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...

) * ''Allaeochelys libyca'' Havlik et al., 2014,

Al Wahat District Al Wahat or The Oases ( ar, الواحات ', en, The Oases), occasionally spelt ''Al Wahad'' or ''Al Wahah'' ( en, The Oasis) is one of the districts of Libya.''Statesman's Yearbook 2006'' Its capital and largest city is Ajdabiya. The district ...

, Libya, middle

(

Langhian The Langhian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, an age or stage in the middle Miocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma and 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago) during the Middle Miocene.GeoWhen (2007) The Langhian was a ...

) * ''Allaeochelys lingnanica'' (Young and Chow, 1962)

Shaoguan Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province (Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriarch H ...

, Guangdong, China early

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

(possibly

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

) * ''Allaeochelys magnifica'' (Hutchison et al., 2004) Pandaung Formation, Myanmar, Late Eocene (

Bartonian The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geologic time scale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene Epoch or Series. The Bartonian Age spans the time between . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian Age. Stratigraphic definitio ...

) * ''Allaeochelys parayrei'' Noulet, 1867 Tarn,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, France, Late Eocene (Bartonian) * ''Allaeochelys liliae'' Carbot-Chanona et al. 2020 Mazantic Shale, Chiapas, Mexico, Early Miocene ( Aquitanian)

References

Carettochelyidae Fossils of Germany Eocene turtles Prehistoric turtle genera {{paleo-turtle-stub